Legislator actions ….not a reflection on the majority but a desire for further reform

The actions of three legislators last week once again cast a shadow on the majority of members of the NYS Assembly and Senate and as a freshman, I can state uneqivocally this shadow is unfair in many aspects. That being said, if I was one on the outside of the Chamber, I too would be questioning the antics of the legislators as well and probably would be ordering up another dose of cyncism.

To be fair, those alleged are innocent until proven guilty but I would sure not like to be in the position of trying to defend what the avvidavits allege. At a minimum, there has been a poor exercise in judgement and that is being kind.

As a freshman legislator, I am embarrassed, just as I was in my other profession – Pharmacy – a few months ago. If you recall, and I posted on this back in January, one of my colleagues in pharmacy abused his privileges and took what was a simple compounding pharmacy and brought it to a full fledged manufacturing facility, strictly non-compliant with Federal law. In the process things got sloppy and unfortunately many thousands of doses of sorely needed medication where shipped, albeit contaminated. Illness and death ensued which is unacceptable. What a shame and although I or many of my other colleagues have nothing to do with it, this reflects poorly on the profession. The same holds true for elected officials, although I will make it clear – holding office is not a profession! That being said, when corruption is alleged or occurs – a broad brush is painted on all that participate.

The thought that individuals in office would accept funds for favors is unacceptable and it is time to make changes and we should start with campaign finance reform. Lowering campaign contribution limits per elected office and avoiding backdoor donations to larger groups is a step in the right direction. Additionally we need to review our funding for the State Board of Elections. The ability to conduct proper investigations is limited due to lack of resources. It is no secret to anyone that this office needs the resources to do the job and maybe, just maybe we are at the tipping point to change the support for this agency.

Finally one comment – situations like this stimulate an effort to try to pin the blame on one person. Over the last few days I have heard this over and over and I would encourage all those discontented (as I am) to direct their energy at those who commit the grievous allegations. These actions are individual choices committed on their own accord and in that light if an individual is guilty of betraying the public trust, they should be held to the highest levels of accountability.